


I Know What Love Is Now

by prda



Category: Newsies (1992), Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Angst, Canon Era, Confessions, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Gay, Gay Male Character, Just little ones though, Love Confessions, M/M, Period-Typical Homophobia, Songfic, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-11
Updated: 2019-06-11
Packaged: 2020-04-24 00:21:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19161985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prda/pseuds/prda
Summary: Basically, "Something to Believe In" but switch Katherine with Davey, and add a dash of angst and period-homophobia and you got a fanfiction.





	I Know What Love Is Now

**Author's Note:**

> This starts as Jack is climbing up the fire escape to his "penthouse", aka the roof of the lodging house.

**Jack's POV**

GOD! WHY DID I DEAL WITH THAT STUPID PULITZER!?!? That blood-sucking, no good, jerk face, mother-!

UGH...I had to though. I had to protect the other kids. My brothers. My sisters. They won't survive a week in The Refuge; it's hard enough for Crutchie, and he's only been in there for THREE!! I can't let 'em suffer the same fate as him. We'll get 'im out...I know we will.

That being said, I can't be around any one of 'em, and I don't think they would like to see me either. Seein' their brother and leader abandoning them and dealin' with the enemy, I would throw in the towel and abandon myself if I could. But I can't, and now I gotta live wit the pain and the money in my pocket; blood money is what it is.

I just need time alone, away from the city, the newsies, and everyone...even Davey. I will neva forget the look on 'is face when he saw me take the money: anger, betrayal, sadness, heartbreak, and confusion. I tried ta apologize to 'im, but he ran as soon as my yap opened. This ain't what I wanted to happen; the opposite really. I wanted Davey to stand by my side as we both rallied up the newsies against Pulitzer and the World...instead I left 'im in tha dust. Worse, I broke his heart. Despite what dem preachers and folks say, I could give a rat's ass about likin' another guy.

 

*CLANG*

What the hell? Is someone in my spot!? They betta not be tryin' to steal my crap!

"HEY! Who's up there!?"

I say as climb up the last o' the steps to the roof. Thank ya New York, the one day we gets a full moon, you decide to be very cloudy. Can't see anything in this light. Well, at least I can tell someone is near the...PIPES! Crap!

"HEY! What're ya doin'!"

"Oh crap!" This mysterious figure says as he turns and reveals himself to BE..."It's me, Jack! Just me!" ...Davey?

"Oh god...What does it take to get rid o' you people!?!?"

"I'm like buzzards over a carcass, Jack: I'm inevitable."

"Dave, you knows I hates it when you use your fancy, big words wid me."

"*sighs* I'm saying that I'm gonna be around whether ya like it or not."  _I'd much rather have ya away than here right now Davey_.

 

"Who even let ya up here?"

"Specs. He lowered the ladder. Besides, this isn't the first time I've been here. You should know I'd find a way up somehow."

That's Davey. Always so smart and able to get outta situations in more ways than one.

"*groan* I'mma give 'im a piece o' my mind when I'se sees him again-"

"You won't, Jack. I know you won't. As much as you want, you would never strike him like you would to the Delanceys."  _Well played Dave...well played._

"I was just tryin' to make a point to you, Dave."

 

I look behind David to see that the steam pipe was taken off, and finally notice that he was holdin' one of my drawings in his hands.

"Did Specs say you can touch my shit too?"

"NO!...no...this was my own doing...I-I-I-I saw the thing was off, so I picked it up to fix it. And then I saw the papers, and curiosity got the best of me and I couldn't help but look at them and-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah Dave. I get the picture."

"Jack...are these from The Refuge?"

It is. Boys packed into rickety bunks. Rats runnin' across the floor. Goin' hungry for days at a time. The endless moans o' pain from the boys who had got the worst of Synder's wrath. I can't help but nod as nightmares of Hell flood my mind.

"This is just awful. Disgusting. How can they live? How can they get through this?...How did you manage to live?"

"We don't live Dave. Me and them boys in them scribbles, we was dead on the inside. There ain't anythin' to hope for in that God-forsaken place. If anything, we hoped and prayed to God that we wouldn't see tomorra. That in the middle o' the night, he would take us away from Hell-on-Earth. If you saw the opportunity to get outta there, you took it. Like I did."

"Jack. I'm so sorry."

"It ain't your fault Dave. This how me and da rest of the newsies will always be seen: nothin' but hoodlums who live to feed off o' the scraps of the big bellies."

"That is not true, Jack. You and the others can show that you are a force to be reckoned with."

 

"How do you s'pose we do that then Davey? Gimme an honest answer. Just waltz into Pultizer's office just to be thrown out again?"

"Even better. With your drawings and descriptions of The Refuge, Katherine should be able to-"

"Katherine! The bull dog's lap dog!? You still trust her? She's the daughta of our enemy Dave! Has that not gotten through to ya?"

"Jack if she really was trying to derail our train, don't you think should would've done so by now?"

As much as I hates to say it, Davey does make a solid point: if Kath was really tryin' to ruin us, she woulda made the shot by now.

"Look, it's a long shot, but I believe that if we do this, it will work."

"And what makes you think that?"

 

"...Because I believe in you Jack..." Dave says as he walks closer to me.

"Whaddya mean, Dave? How can you believe in me afta what I did to you and the newsies?"

"Even then, I could see that you were doing it for us; to protect us. But still I need to know..."

"Need to know what?"

David is now just inches away from me. Starin' into his eyes, I can see a deep thought runnin' through his 'ead. Like it might kill 'im if he doesn't tell me somethin'. He breaks the contact by staring down at my lips. "...Da-" is all I can get out as he grabs the back of my head and puts his lips on mine. I'm stunned, but I find Davey's movements and match what he wants.   _I am actually kissing David Jacobs...and he started it._

Pullin' away, he rests his forehead on mine and leaves a hand on my cheek. He looks back into my eyes. Practically outta breath, all I can manage to say is, "What was that for?"

"Jack...tell me you didn't do it for the money." Dave says with the most sincere voice I've ever heard.

I grab his hand with mine. "*sigh* You know how the world works Dave. Ya don't win if the headline ain't flashy enough, even worse if the fire to burn it is snuffed out in a night."

I rub my thumb against the back of his hand, "I couldn't bear to see you guys suffer under a dumb move on my part. More so you. I would neva forgive myself if you and Les ended up in a place like that. You'se got a home. Family."

"And you don't have that? The newsies don't count?"

"You knows what I mean. Besides, Pulitzer has the power. He's gots the city in his back pocket." David lets go and grabs the papers again.

"Not if we play his game and beat him at it. That's why we need to publish your stories and drawings! Once the public sees this, they have to change their mind about the strikes and defend our cause."

I wanna argue, but seein' how much he lights up with excitement and passion is what's stoppin' me. And hearin' how we'd get the job done, it all might work out in the end. "So whatcha tryin' to say is, if we plays our cards right, we'd be able to get good ol' Pulitzer to fold and call it quits?"

"Exactly."

"If you think that Davey, I don't see why we can't at least try."

"Well what do ya know, Jack Kelly is back!"

 

"But how exactly are we's gonna get the word out."

"Well we need to print our own paper of course...but every printing press in New York is shut down from any strike-related news, plus we wouldn't be able to do it without it being told to Pulitzer. Unless you know of any open printing presses, we're down to good ol' fashioned handwriting."

Printin' presses, they's hard to come by, especially since Pultizer's got 'is hands on everyone of them...except the one in...oh boy...

"*devious chuckle* I know where there's a printin' press..."

"Where?"

"Somewhere where Pulitzer wouldn't even bother messin' around...under 'is own nose."

"Well, if it can work, how can we be sure that no one's gonna be around to see or hear what we're doing?"

"I'se got connections around town. By pullin' a few strings and threatenin' the right guys, we'd be able to get in an' out like nothin' happened."

"Let's just try not to threaten anybody. We want them on our side remember?"

"Alright. But my point is, I know some folks who'd be willing to help us out, and I'll be right there leadin' them kids to victory!"

 

"There's the Jack Kelly I know! It's no wonder why I love you so much."

 _LOVE?_ "What'd you just say?"

"...w-what do you mean?"

"Did you just say you love me?" That came out a little aggressive but I meant it in a hopeful tone. Won't help now though 'cause Davey is now about 5 steps away from the fire escape.

"Oh t-t-that...uh...it was nothing. So on that, I'll just get out of here. Gotta make the arrangements with Katherine and get this story in order an-"

Before he take another step further, I grab his hand.

"Wait wait wait. Please. Lemme ask you somethin'."

"S-s-sure."

"What....what's goin' on between us? I'm not talkin' 'bout the strike and our partnership. I mean....what does this make us?"

"Well, it can mean whatever you want Jack." He says to me with his signature smirk. I swear, this guy gets more street-smart everyday.

"WELL DON'T SAY IT LIKE IT HAPPENS EVERYDAY!"

"*snickers* ....I'm serious Jack. I'm willing to do whatever, whenever." **[A/N Did you catch that _It Shoulda Been You_ reference ;). That's not the song for this, obviously.]**

"But David. Davey. You know how the world looks at guys like us. You sees in the back pages o' the papes. Besides, guys like you don't end up with guys like me. Hell, we's not even supposed to end up with guys in the first place. I care about you too much to put you through all that."

His face drops as I say that. Deep down, we both know we's not welcome in society.

"I know Jack," He says after a while. He snakes his hand in mine though, "but I don't care. We're at the dawn of a new century. I can tell big changes are coming. I don't know when but they are. And don't you dare say that a guy like me doesn't deserve to be with a guy like you. You're a leader, a damn great artist, and a father figure for a bunch of kids who probably would be out on the streets if it weren't for you. Anyone is deserving to be with you."

And there's the enthusiasm and ambitiousness he's got that I love and am pretty jealous of. "*sighs* And there's the Davey I love. Even with faced with the harsh reality of the world, you's still lookin' forward to tomorrow."

"...So....you mean to say you feel the same way?"

"Let's just say that if I didn't, I woulda smacked ya silly after that smooch toots." I say as I smack his ass. He gasps as I laugh  _my_ ass off. He then smacks me in the arm (very hard actually for him...that's a first), before laughing along with me.

 

"But seriously, Dave. Are you absolutely sure you wanna go through with this? Are you willing to get on this runaway train ride?"

"...I'm not sure Jack. But that's how it's always been with you. I've never been certain about anything. I mean even before meeting you, I thought I knew what everything was or how they all worked."

"What're you tryin' to tell me?"

"Well, 'till the moment I met you...I thought I knew what love was. I thought that it was something written in the stars; that it couldn't be changed. That it was just a big straight line. But you showed that it's different: it's gonna do whatever it wants, and it will have its ups and downs. But regardless, you gave me something to believe in. It could last for one night or maybe forever, but that's alright. And you could be gone tomorrow, but what was ours still will be. And it's all because you believed in me."

"That was sweet Dave. And if we's bein' honest, I neva thought I'd be in this position. Hell, we was never meant to meet, but we ended up becoming partners for who knows why."

"Well Les singled you out of the crowd and suggested we get help from you."

"Shuddup, smartass. Anyways, somehow we gets together and become the best sellers in all o' Manhattan. And I'll be honest, I didn't think you twos was gonna last as long as ya have. You was fresh meat from the deli lyin' in the collection centa; just a passin' stranger on the street. But I grew to like havin' you around and I saw that there was more to you than first sight. I loved thinkin' 'bout ya too 'cause you gave me somethin' to believe in. And just likes you said, maybe this could last forever or even a night, but I don't care. And even if I go tomorrow or not, what was ours still will be. And it's all because you believed in me."

 

Davey takes another step closer to me as he wraps his arms around my neck.

"Well...do you know what I believe in?"

I smile as I wrap my arms around his waist.

"How 'bout ya look in my eyes, and I bet you'll see."

After I say that, he smiles as he kisses me again. This time, there's more passion and feelin' in this one. After pullin' away, Davey turns back to the metal steps.

"...it's getting late. I have to get home now..." He says as he tightens his grip on me and says into my shoulder, "...but I don't want to though. I want to stay here...with you."

"I know Davey, but you have to go. You's got a home and family. Who love you very much. Just as much as me. If only things were different."

"I know that too. But I just wish that you weren't leaving for Santa Fe."

"And if you weren't such a big-headed smartass, and if Pulitzer wasn't after our heads."

"Oh come on...you're not seriously scared of him, are you?"

"Hmph, nah...but I am pretty scared of you."

"Don't be." Is what he says as he starts to let go and starts to hop onto the fire escape. "If we're gonna do this, I'm counting on you to be there to the very end."

"I can't make too many promises Dave."

 

"Well, if you're gone tomorrow, what did we say?"

"'What was ours still will be.'"

"And I mean that, you've given me something to believe in Jack." He says as his beautiful, sky-blue eyes stare into mine and pulls me in for one last kiss, "And it's all 'cause you believed in me."

"I love you, David."

He smiles and says, "I love you too, Cowboy."

I smile as I watch him hurry down the steps and hop onto the pavement below. I rest my arms on the ledge and watch him walk down the street and turn the corner. I have no idea what to do now. Should I stay and lead the strike? Or should I take Pulitzer's money and hop on the next train to Santa Fe?

 

I don't know and I don't care. 'Cause the one thing that matters is that no matter what I choose, I want David to be by my side 'till the end. 'Cause for once in my life, I've got something to believe in. And it's all 'cause he believed in me.

**Author's Note:**

> And we're done. Wow, this was all done within a night. Had an idea and just had to write it all down before I completely forgot about it. Sorry if there's any mishaps, errors, plotholes, etc.; my spur-of-the-moment writing is to blame. Besides that, hope you guys enjoyed it and I'll see you again soon.


End file.
